Board needs new faces

Trustee Linda Sneen has announced she will not seek reelection to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board. Other members, however, say they likely will run, in part to smooth the transition to a new superintendent. This week we asked our parent panelists: Is maintaining the status quo on the board necessary, or could it use an infusion of new members?

Staying on the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees to help the new superintendent get settled makes about as much sense as taking your motherin-law with you on your honeymoon. It’s time for a new chapter in the school district and for trustees Serene Stokes and Judy Franco, who have a combined total of some 40 years on the board, to begin planning their retirement parties so they can graciously make way for fresh ideas from new trustees.

Board members who have served multiple terms are more of a hindrance than a positive influence because they want to keep doing things the way we’ve always done them here. The future superintendent needs freedom to move ahead to implement programs that work. Test scores in our underperforming schools indicate this board either doesn’t care or doesn’t understand how to effectively educate minority students in these schools. Now that the bonds have been passed, it’s time to focus on what’s happening -- or not happening -- in the classrooms.

We’re stuck in this situation because there are no term limits for trustees and because the teachers union has the money to support its candidates, who often stay on the board for years. If they want to be reelected, union-supported trustees are obliged to vote for union-proposed salaries and benefits and to approve programs and curriculum favored by union members. Teachers union ideas are not always the best for our children because of the union’s broader national agenda.

What’s besSt for the school district is for courageous and independent thinkers to run for the board. The election is in November, and it’s not too early for candidates to begin planning campaigns. Candidates not supported by the union must have a war chest of campaign funds.

More than experience and knowledge gained from years on the board, school board candidates must be passionate about finding ways to give our children a superior education. They must have a willingness to serve the public and the time and desire to understand the complexities of the educational bureaucracy. Lastly, they should believe in their ideas enough to want to share them, and they should not be intimidated by the power of the teachers union.

* WENDY LEECE is a Costa Mesa parent, former school board member and member of the city’s parks and recreation commission.

The idea that the current school board is needed to smooth the transition to a new superintendent is laughable. It seems almost arrogant -- as if only they can do the job of protecting the new superintendent and the great unwashed of the community from each other. I almost lost my lunch when I read that quote. Guardians of the status quo are the last thing this school district needs as it brings in new leadership. Where are term limits when we need them?

I agreed wholeheartedly with the Daily Pilot editorial that ran Sunday. The current school board has done almost nothing notable that I can remember, other than float the two bonds. I can’t think of a single creative initiative originating from the board that actually improved education.

Last year, during my effort to solve the athletic field fiasco in Costa Mesa, I sent every one of the current board members a letter and backup documentation, basically pleading for help. Only one member (Tom Egan) bothered to respond and look into the situation. The non-response spoke volumes about the apathy and aversion to controversy that the current board has settled into over their lengthy terms.

It would really nice to have a school board that has more of a stake. Only one current board member (Linda Sneen) has any kids who actually attend district schools, and she’s leaving. Most of the board members’ kids graduated years ago, so it’s pretty hard to believe that they can relate to current issues in the schools. Parents with kids in the schools need to step up.

It would be really nice to have a board that actually is representative of the community it serves. In a district that has a huge proportion of Latino students, we don’t have even one Latino board member.

Someday the Latino electorate is going to wake up and get involved, but for now we’ve got a board that’s upscale, lily white and without a clue as to the real experience of half of the people they purportedly serve. Hispanic parents need to step up.

The sad part, however, is that the current board ran unopposed in the last election.

Nobody in Newport Beach or Costa Mesa had a better idea or even the inclination to get involved. We get what we elect, and if nobody else runs it’s pretty easy to do very little and feel good about it, as the current board obviously does.

* MARK GLEASON is a Costa Mesa resident and parent.

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